John Sununu profited from Azerbaijan attack on ethnic Armenians

Former Sen. John Sununu’s stock portfolio benefited from Azerbaijan’s 2020 war with Armenia, a conflict that led to ethnic cleansing and genocide.

Sununu is running for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire again this year. He left office in 2009 and has since worked as a corporate lobbyist and adviser. He has substantial stock holdings and a reported net worth of up to $36.3 million.

Personal finance disclosures indicate that Sununu owns between $1 million and $5 million of Anglo Asian Mining (AAM) stock, a London-listed public company that mines gold, copper, and silver in Azerbaijan.

Sununu’s father, former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, sits on AAM’s board of directors, as does Sununu’s brother Michael. In September 2024, the elder Sununu transferred more than 900,000 shares of AAM to the family-owned investment firm Sununu Holdings LLC.

In 2020, Azerbaijan invaded Nagorno-Karabakh, a region that is geographically within Azerbaijan but was controlled by ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan used ground troops, heavy artillery, drones, and missile strikes to seize control of the territory.

United Nations officials raised concerns about Azerbaijan’s alleged “indiscriminate attacks” on civilians and infrastructure, while Amnesty International alleged that both sides likely committed war crimes in the conflict. A report produced through Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights reached similar conclusions, documenting evidence of executions, torture, mutilations, and beheadings carried out by Azerbaijani forces.

In 2023, Azerbaijan launched another offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, forcing more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee the region. Numerous human rights groups and International Criminal Court officials described the events as ethnic cleansing, with some arguing they constituted genocide.

Both of these incidents allowed AAM to expand its mining operations into Nagorno-Karabakh, which proved extremely profitable for the company. AAM’s stock value has grown by 395% in just the last three years as a result.

The Armenian National Committee UK, the largest group representing the political interests of British Armenians, said AAM was “taking advantage of the war and exploiting an unstable region to maximize profits for its investors.”

A lawsuit against AAM alleged that Sununu’s father encouraged Azerbaijan’s failed 2016 raid on Nagorno-Karabakh for the express purpose of expanding mining operations.

This is not the first time Sununu has been accused of profiting from a war. Earlier this year, it was reported that the value of his oil and gas holdings had skyrocketed as a result of the wars involving Venezuela and Iran. Sununu has supported continued U.S. involvement in Iran.

Sununu will face former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown in a Sept. 8 primary. The winner will likely face Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas in the general election.